Madmen don't keep diaries

Chapter 384, 383 Going Upstairs
Various dishes were served one after another.

The lady in the cheongsam stood by her side the whole time, neither too close nor too far, maintaining a position where she could speak at any time without disturbing her.

When each dish is served, she can describe it clearly in just a few words, highlighting its special features without adding any unnecessary details.

To be fair, Shi Wuyu's cooking skills were indeed top-notch, and the taste of each dish amazed Feng Xiuhu. However, he and Shunzi ate somewhat absentmindedly.

Shunzi felt immense psychological pressure every time she picked up her chopsticks because she was worried about the cost.

Feng Xiuhu, on the other hand, had something on his mind—he had noticed two or three times that diners in Western-style suits were being led upstairs by waitresses in cheongsams.

He beckoned the woman in the cheongsam over and casually pointed to the stairs: "What's up there?"

The lady in the cheongsam smiled calmly: "It's my fault for forgetting to introduce ourselves. Our Shi Wu Yu restaurant has five floors. The first floor is the main dining hall, the second floor is the VIP area with private rooms that offer excellent privacy, the third and fourth floors are for VIPs to rest and stay overnight after the banquet, and the fifth floor is the private area of ​​our boss, which is not open to guests."

Feng Xiuhu pointed to his nose: "Am I not a VIP? Move me to the second floor."

The lady in the cheongsam still smiled sincerely: "With your status, going to the second floor would be more than enough. I would be very happy to invite you to the second floor and arrange the best private room for you to dine in. Unfortunately, this is beyond my authority, and I apologize for that."

Feng Xiuhu persisted: "If you don't have enough authority, then go find your manager."

"manager?"

The lady in the cheongsam reacted quickly: "You mean our head steward? But I'm afraid I'll have to disappoint you. Even the head steward can't take you up to the second floor."

Feng Xiuhu frowned: "Then how much authority do you want?"

The lady in the cheongsam smiled and explained, “Guest, you may not know this, but to dine on the second floor, you first need to become our official VIP—I mean the kind of VIP with a VIP pass. Our VIP passes for Shi Wu Yu are quite rare; you can’t buy them even if you have the money. You need to be introduced by a guest who already has a VIP pass, and then the head of the restaurant will personally conduct an interview before you can become an official VIP.”

Feng Xiuhu waved his hand impatiently, telling her to go back to stand aside.

Feng Xiuhu was convinced that there was something fishy about all those fancy rules and regulations.

Feng Xiuhu didn't really want to cause trouble—he was new to the place, and Fang Youliu had given him instructions beforehand. Besides, no one had come up to provoke him. Feng Xiuhu wasn't just bored and had nothing better to do than invite trouble upon himself.
But he was genuinely curious about the place—who wouldn't be curious if a restaurant doorman carried a gun?

Feng Xiuhu's eyes lit up, and he had an idea.

He leaned closer and whispered to Shunzi, "If anyone asks, just say I ate too much and took a nap."

Shunzi was stunned and hadn't realized what it meant when he saw Feng Xiuhu assume a sleeping posture with his head resting on the table, and his spirit body left his body.

Shunzi blinked, and then he understood.

Feng Xiuhu pointed to the stairs in the distance, gave Shunzi a look, and then walked towards them.

Watching Feng Xiuhu's retreating figure, Shunzi quickly averted her gaze to avoid arousing suspicion, and continued to pick up food without changing her expression.

He picked up a piece of fish made from tofu, but before he could put it in his mouth, he saw Feng Xiuhu sitting up straight across the table.

Shunzi froze on the spot: "Why are you back again..."

He subconsciously looked in the direction Feng Xiuhu had left—Feng Xiuhu's figure had only just reached the top of the stairs!
Shunzi turned around abruptly and met Feng Xiuhu's slightly confused gaze.

“What’s going on…” Feng Xiuhu muttered to himself.

This time, Shunzi saw it clearly—in Feng Xiuhu's eyes opposite him were two vertical pupils.

Shi looked around but couldn't find Feng Xiuhu, so he turned to Shunzi and asked, "Where is he?"

Shunzi couldn't help but swallow and pointed to the top of his head.

When Shi looked up, all he could see was the ceiling with a crystal chandelier hanging from it.

Shunzi put some food on Shi's plate: "Keep eating, don't look around."

Shi didn't understand, but he did as he was told.

He picked up some food, put it in his mouth, chewed for a moment, swallowed, and smacked his lips as he savored it, saying, "Hmm... the cooking is alright, but the taste is far inferior to Xi Jun's."

Shunzi's curiosity was piqued by a single sentence: "You've eaten Xi Jun's cooking? No—Xi Jun actually cooked himself?"

……

Feng Xiuhu climbed the curved staircase.

Although ordinary people cannot see spirits, Feng Xiuhu still kept a watchful eye on things—after all, there are so many temples and monasteries in Qianyu City, it's hard to guarantee that a cultivator at the Divine Travel Realm might come here to eat at a high price.

Upon arriving on the second floor, the first thing that caught Feng Xiuhu's eye was a heavy and ornate double door. The door was closed at the moment, but doormen and maids still stood by it.

Feng Xiuhu pondered for a moment, thinking that the area inside the gate was nothing more than a place to eat, and with so many people around, it would be a loss if he were discovered. So he turned around and continued walking upstairs.

As the lady in the cheongsam said, the third and fourth floors are all independent rooms with a long corridor running through them. But what she didn't say is that from the third floor onwards, you have arrived at the "deck" of the entire fishless boat-shaped structure. In addition to the rooms, there is also a large open-air rest area.

At this time, there were many people gathered in twos and threes on the deck, some standing on the edge looking out and enjoying the breeze, and others raising their wine glasses and talking in hushed tones.

Feng Xiuhu moved closer and stood to listen for a while.

A fat man wearing a tie said, "The owls in Mianlupu are on strike again. The foreign devils at the shipyard have come to bother me several times this month."

The skinny man across from him adjusted his gold-rimmed glasses: "The owl strike is their own shipyard's problem. Either they haven't been paid enough, or they're exploiting them too much. Are they expecting the Planning Department to solve all these problems for them? If I were you, I would just push the matter to the Foreign Affairs Mediation Bureau, which would drag it out for half a month."

The fat man in the tie glanced around, his gaze sweeping over Feng Xiuhu's face without lingering. He lowered his voice, "Can we keep dragging this out? What if we push those foreigners too far? They might just send a letter straight to the Duke of Da Guo..."

Upon hearing this, the bespectacled skinny man frowned slightly. He pondered for a moment before speaking: "Qianyu City is not the territory of the Grand Duke. Does he think he can control everything in Qianyu City? Even if he really puts pressure on us, he can just find another excuse to keep delaying."

The fat man in the tie waved his hands repeatedly: "Be careful what you say. Even if Qianyu City is not under the jurisdiction of the Grand Duke, it is still within the diocese of the Misty Church. The Grand Duke is far away after all, and I am more worried that the foreign devil will bring out the church to support him."

The skinny man with glasses nodded: "What you said makes sense..."

Feng Xiuhu only half understood what he was hearing, and almost couldn't help but speak up. After thinking about it, he finally held back and turned back to continue walking towards the top floor, the fifth floor.

(End of this chapter)